OK, now that you have posted such wonderful ideas for naming the January business class, it’s time to narrow down the choices.

Here is the short list:

1)      Shelley’s Business Bakery

2)      One Roast Business (Plan)

3)      90-Day DARE

4)      Your Business Breakthrough

5)      Your Successful Start-Up

6)      Back to Basics Business Bootcamp

And my final submission, which is a mash-up of some of the ideas submitted:

7)      Your Business Breakthrough: The 90-Day DARE

It’s your turn to vote.

Sunny weekend, walked around the Louvre (didn’t go inside, frankly one visit is enough for a lifetime). But from the outside it’s lovely and spectacular.

When I took over as the manager of the word processing centre in the student union building at the University of British Columbia, it was originally for a 4-month maternity leave.

But Mrs. Disorganized didn’t come back after 4 months. No big surprise, 4 months is too short for most people. Anyway, she didn’t come back.

I was still in charge.

I had weekly meetings with the general manager of the student union. He ‘pushed’ me hard. He had me doing things like budgets and cash flow projections. Stuff I knew absolutely nothing about. …

[He also mentored my then-boyfriend, who was a young student council executive, and the resident computer wizard. My then-boyfriend joked that Mr. Grey Suit's kids weren't business minded (or very bright), and so he had to channel his parenting/business skills elsewhere, and chose young employees to push uphill. Probably not a true story, but it sort of fit ]

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To read the complete entry, sign up for email series: “Marketing Behind the Scenes: The REAL Story of One Roast Vegetable” here: http://oneroastvegetable.com/story.htm

~ All best, Shelley

Can you name a tune after hearing just a few notes? Are you quick with words, puns and imagination?

Well, if so, I’d like you to name a class for me.

I’m launching a 3 month business class in January.  And it doesn’t have a name.

The beta class is called “Beta Business Class.”

I agree, not very imaginative

Here’s where YOU come in.

I have a box of Belgian truffles that I purchased on Thursday in Brussels. This is the reward present. It’s worth about $25 US and then once I airmail the box to you, that’ll be another $25 probably!

The store in Brussels is called A.M. Sweet, and they make really great handmade truffles.  And I bought a box just for you.

The Contest:

Name the 3-month business class.  It’s built around the concept of Discipline + Action = Results + Excellence.  But just calling it the DARE business class is a bit lame.

The fundamental concepts covered in the class are (1) changes on the inside that are required to move you from being an employee to self-employed, (2) what do you want your business to be known for, (3) the trip you take your clients on that takes them from ‘prospect’ to ‘client’, (4) support, rewards, accountability required to be successfully self-employed, (5) communication and the voice of your company, (6) creating products and services.

Finally, I should tell you that I’m fond of alliteration. But I’m all used up on the letter B (Back to Basics, Beyond the Basics, Beta Business, Best Ever Christmas Baking) and V (Very Veggie Videos, Very Veggie Recipes).

The idea of alliteration is a good one, though, as it lends rhythm.

Naming a class is like naming a tune. It doesn’t have to rhyme or have the same initial consonants. But it does have to flow.

So, here’s my question. Can you name that tune for me?

I have some fabulous Belgian truffles for you if you can Contest closes November 20th.

All best,
Shelley

After I’d been substitute teaching for about eight months — all the while working in the word processing centre in the student union building at the university typing papers — the manager went on maternity leave. She had an assistant manager who was not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Nice girl, but a follower. In addition, this typing place had two other full-time unionized employees, and a few part-timers like me.

Yes, really. A small office with an organizational chart. You see it all the time.  Lots of chiefs. Everyone’s in charge.

I applied to be the acting manager while Mrs. Disorganized was on maternity leave. I was perhaps not the likely choice, as I was a part-timer.

Still, I was quite convinced that the assistant manager wasn’t up to the job, and I managed to convince the general manager of the student union the same.

I was given the job. It was for 4 months.

You can imagine how happy the assistant manager was, and how thrilled she was to now be taking orders from me.

How old was I? Twenty-four. Distinctly unqualified at least on paper. I had a Bachelor of Arts in English, and a Bachelor of Education.

The office had been losing money for awhile, but since it was run by the student union, and considered to be a ’service’ for students, they let the money thing slide for a long time. But the year before I took over (1990-1991), they’d run a huge deficit of $35,000 in just one year.

Once I became the manager, I changed two key things…

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To read the complete entry, sign up for email series: “Marketing Behind the Scenes: The REAL Story of One Roast Vegetable” here: http://oneroastvegetable.com/story.htm

~ All best, Shelley

Trip to the Marais and the Jewish quarter, for the world famous falafel. This is our best ‘celebration’ meal. I think we were celebrating our apartment in Montreal being rented (which has since fallen through, anyone need to rent a lovely furnished apartment in Montreal?).

Because the restaurant is closed on Saturday, we visited on Sunday and the line-ups were long on the left for take out, and shorter on the right for eat in, which we did!

And it was time for an updated picture of me in front of this restaurant I’d love to own… Have you seen the UK episode of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares that takes place in Paris? This is the restaurant, right down the street from the falafel place.

And here’s last year’s picture,
same restaurant was for sale then, too:

THEN I was filming the last video for the Fabulous French Desserts cooking class, soft peach cake:

I may have to buy some frozen peaches and make this right now, I’m starving!

~ All best, Shelley

I know I’m about 6 weeks behind in posting my Paris pictures. I’ll work on getting caught up over the next week or so. Not to worry, I’m still taking lots of pictures, I just have to sort through them to show you the best ones. (Nothing more boring that looking at someone’s BAD travel pictures…)

On Saturday, September 12th, we went to Parc de Bercy … big park and gardens which is next door to a big music sports / concert hall (this is where Madonna played when last here).

  Main entrance to the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy (POPB)

yes, they have grass growing up the side of the building

the teenagers were having a lot of fun skateboarding down the many flights of stairs

this is the park next door

the gardens are set up so that you can sit on the grass between the flower beds

Alas, I don’t have any pictures of the outdoor restaurant, complete with live DJ spinning groove 1960s albums, where we sat and had a beer in the sun.

More to come

~ All best, Shelley

Extract:
==

When I was studying to be a special education teacher, I kind of liked going to type after a day of dealing with kids. My word processing job at the university was a good place to have some ‘comfort’.

Typing had clear expectations, and projects had a beginning, middle, and an end.

And when it was quiet, I could work on lesson plans and type my own stuff. Like the fiction stories I continued to write, because I hadn’t given up my dream of doing a Masters degree in Creative Writing … I just didn’t know where it fit in.

I finished the teaching program and started substitute teaching.

I was often called back to deal with the most difficult classrooms. Seems that my special ed training, specifically in ‘mild impairment’ and behaviour modification, made me a good substitute to call when you have a particularly difficult class.

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To read the complete entry, sign up for email series: “Marketing Behind the Scenes: The REAL Story of One Roast Vegetable” here: http://oneroastvegetable.com/story.htm

~ All best, Shelley

PS/ There’s one spot left for November’s Beta Business Class here, and I have champagne waiting to drink > http://www.oneroastvegetable.com/members/signup.php?price_group=-4177

My fourth key to self-discipline is:  “Ask your customers every day for positive feedback, ideas, and comments.”

I don’t know about you, but working at home alone can sometimes feel like you’re working in the DARK.

You write emails, create products, you hold teleclasses — but sometimes you’re not super-sure if your group is *really* interested in whatever tangent you’re following.

Sometimes you get a billion emails saying “yes, thanks, exactly.”  Other times it’s dead-silent.

So what do you do?

A blog is helpful. It creates an easy way for people to leave comments and feedback. I usually set up my blogs so that users do NOT have to register to leave a comment. I also have it set so that comments are NOT held in moderation first, and that people do NOT have to use their real names or real email addresses.

Why do I do this? To encourage the highest response rate possible.

Because, frankly, if you’re not having a CONVERSATION with your clients (which by definition is back-and-forth, and not one-sided), then you’re just talking to yourself.

A conversation requires two people: you AND your gang.

I will periodically say something like: “What would you like me cover, what would you like to see next, tell me what you wish for in my next class, tell me what you think of this … share your ideas with me.”

BUT I also say, from time to time: “YOUR NAME, if this IS NOT for  you, it’s OK if you unsubscribe from this list. No hard feelings.”

Because if it’s not for them, THAT’S OK. I want my gang to be full of people who are wanting to hear from me.

Some people will unsubscribe. Lives change and priorities change. That’s normal.

I remember when I first started One Roast Chicken, in my insecurity, I used to email people who UNsubscribed to ask them “why?”

Now I know to just let them go.

And instead, I turn to WELCOME the 50 new subscribers who have entered today

All best,
Shelley

PS/ There’s one spot left for November’s Beta Business Class here > http://www.oneroastvegetable.com/members/signup.php?price_group=-4177

I got an email from Lin this week, saying that she was interested in my Beta Business Class.  But that she wasn’t ready yet.

Here’s what she wrote:

“Shelley, I’m not ready to sign up or invest time yet in the Beta Business Class … Starting my own business has been on my mind for such a longgggggg time, yet it scares me, mostly because I don’t want to fail. I am now 52, no time to waste. I have had so many different ideas of starting different businesses but always figure it won’t work, someone else is doing it, too much competition!”

When I answered Lin, I addressed her specific business ideas, and gave her some ideas for getting started.  But I could have said a lot more about what’s ‘really’ going on here.

**

Here’s what I should have said to Lin:

Everybody’s afraid, that’s normal. My favourite quote about ‘fear’ comes from my friend Suzanne Falter-Barns in her book “How Much Joy Can You Stand?”

“Not only is failure an essential and important part of your progress, it is unavoidable. No matter what you set out to do, sooner or later there will be a failure, whether it is a complete and total belly flop at the onset that redirects your course, or a later one, after you’ve become an established success. Basically, experiencing failure is like arguing with your spouse; nobody wants to do it, but sooner or later it’s bound to happen. And handled intelligently, failure won’t be a disaster at all. Rather, it will yield all sorts of important information about your well-being and your conduct in life” (p. 92).

The other side of the ‘fear’ question is the reality of time.

In another 3 months, Lin, you’ll hopefully still be here on the planet, kicking around, finding stuff to do. It’s also possible that if you follow a slightly different route, and you make different choices beginning now, that in 3 months’ time you’ll be much closer to your idea of having your own business. You can do something or not, but it’ll still be January soon enough. Where do you want to be in January?

Because any action in the ‘forward’ direction takes you closer to your goal. Even if it doesn’t work out.

I started a site called “One Roast Chicken,” and if we’re measuring success in $$, then this site failed.
BUT! It had a mailing list of 4500 when I began One Roast Vegetable. ORC had content and articles and recipes prepared, AND a cookbook designed — all content I have slowly migrated over to the new site. ORC gave me an audience, a way to check what people wanted and a safe place to test my ideas. I would never have started One Roast Vegetable if I didn’t have the other site first.

So you know what, when I’m telling my ’story’ of how I got started, I don’t even say that ORC ‘failed’. I say it was an experiment that taught me tons, and gave me a clearer direction on how to go forward.

Because…

For each decision we take, and each thing we try, it either works or it doesn’t. If it does, we keep going.

If it doesn’t, we refine and keep going.

What’s the key part?

Keep going.

I hope this is helpful

**

~ All best, Shelley

PS/ Link to this week’s 73-minute audio recording about starting your own business is here > http://www.audioacrobat.com/play/WMb7Tw64

The sign-up link for my Beta Business Class is here > http://www.oneroastvegetable.com/members/signup.php?price_group=-4177
This is a one-time offer, as I’m creating the curriculum for a 90-day class that will begin in January.  Register now and you’ll be part of a small-group mastermind, class development, and get one-on-one time with me, and all for 67% LESS than January’s price will be.